Black Friday crowds slow to form for shopping frenzy

The crowds were small at local big-box retailers in the early hours of Friday as the annual Black Friday shopping day got underway.

By Hunter Ingram StarNews Staff

WILMINGTON -- When Matarscha Palmer agreed to go stand outside Best Buy with her husband, Terry, Friday morning to be first in line for a 55-inch television, she thought the doors opened at 5 a.m.

Nearly three hours later, the couple still held their place in front of the line awaiting the actual 8 a.m. opening. With the occasional shiver, Matarscha laughed as she said her husband didn’t give her all the facts.

“He asked if I wanted to come with him, he never asked if I wanted to stand outside with him,” she said.

This was the couple’s second trip out this Black Friday. They went to Wal-Mart and Target Thanksgiving night and ended the trip at Best Buy, where Terry picked up a Roku streaming player around 10 p.m.

The Palmers’ dedication showed Friday morning, as they waited patiently outside a Best Buy that wasn’t even their hometown store. The couple lives in Atlanta.

“We do Black Friday every year,” he said. “Typically, we’re here doing it in Wilmington while I visit my parents.”

Sean Lynge, manager of the Wilmington Best Buy store, said late Friday afternoon that the store's traffic was "up about 10 percent" over last year. He said customers "were in good spirits" Thursday and Friday, even if the store did run out of its big-ticket items, disappointing some customers. And he said he anticipated that Thursday and Friday were only the beginning.

"We're going to be extremely busy this weekend," he said.

Saving shopping for Friday

Tiffany Kerns has sworn off shopping on Thanksgiving Day.

“It seems like everyone is going out on Thanksgiving now and I refuse to do that,” she said. “I don’t think people should be working on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day.”

But once Friday arrived, she and friend Taylor Ellers decided they were ready for a little time away from their kids to do some shopping.

Although the opening hours of the annual Black Friday shopping frenzy have encroached on Thanksgiving in recent years, shoppers still rose early Friday to grab deals at stores just opening for the day or replenishing their shelves after doorbuster deals Thursday.

Free of the little ones for the morning, the pair started at Wal-mart a little after 4 a.m. and then quickly transitioned over to Target. Their kids were never far from their minds though. In their cart was an oversized Barbie Dream House, PlayStation controllers, and other gifts.

Neither said Black Friday shopping is a tradition for them, they just saw some good deals this morning.

With those items checked off the list, they both agreed they were turning their attention elsewhere for the next stop.

“Next we’re going to Mayfaire for us,” Ellers said.

Girls' morning out

Christy Thalheimer and her daughter, Farrah Daisy, were up at 4:30 a.m. and at Kohl’s by 5 a.m., even though they are visiting from Raleigh.

Christy said the pair has done Black Friday shopping for years, but set their alarms a bit early this morning to get the bulk of their shopping done before the rest of the family wakes up.

"We wanted to come get some deals but also be back home with our family before the whole day is gone," she said.

Many of those who arrived in the wee hours of Friday came with coffee in hand, a much-needed jolt to start the day.

Some moved through the aisles perusing for any deals that caught their eye. Christy, however, was a woman on a mission.

“I scoped out what I wanted before I came,” she said, one hand on a cart filled to the top with gifts specifically chosen for family members. With each gift in the cart, Christy would make a big check beside the name in her pink notebook.

As for Farrah Daisy, she was happy for a little girls' morning out, even if she was still waking up.

"I don't like getting up early, but I like shopping," she said.

Reporter Hunter Ingram can be reached at 910-343-2327 or Hunter.Ingram@StarNewsOnline.com.

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